Fascinating food in New York and occasionally farther afield

Banh Xeo 46A

You'll get a look at the specialty of the house before you even sit down.

Stateside, they're commonly called "Vietnamese crepes," but the thin, crisp exterior of a banh xeo (Bahn say-Oh; 20,000 dong, or about $1.20 at the time) is prepared from rice flour, not eggs, and the namesake item at 46A is anything but common. Because there's a continual parade of banh xeo from the open-air kitchen, the bean sprouts, shrimp, and pork within are light and fresh-tasting — even crunchy, in the case of the sprouts.

To eat a banh xeo, slice off a small portion with your chopsticks, place it on a wrapper leaf (at 46A, lettuce or mustard greens), add your choice of fresh herbs (basil, mint, la lot), and dip it it nuoc cham, the watery orange condiment that combines fish sauce, sugar, peppers, and often garlic.

Many folks wash down banh xeo with beer; I find that soda chanh da (10,000 dong) — a can of soda water and a glass of ice, lemon, and sugar — is a better pairing for such delicate fare.